Posted on 02/04/2014 4:55:14 AM PST by dennisw
EXCLUSIVE: 'Tortilla, tortilla!' First words of naked Pacific castaway to islanders after he claimed to have spent 14 MONTHS adrift. 'Miracle Man' tells more of his incredible story
Jose Salvador Alvarenga had an emotional phone conversation with his mother and brothers today Dr Roner Mendoza, who is treating him, said he has liver problems and edema - a swelling of the legs - which could explain his bloated appearance A new image shows Alvarenga as a young man, beaming at the camera It is worlds apart from the bedraggled and bloated figure he cuts now Skeptics are questioning whether his broken-down boat could have traveled 8,000 miles in 14 months
Alvarenga's incredible story is not being doubted by US officials in the Marshall Islands - even as some cast doubt on his claims - and as new details emerged of his life at sea today his account has gained credibility.
It was also learned today that when Alvarenga was offered food by the kindly villagers on Ebon atoll he raised his hands at the plate of coconuts and papaya.
'Tortilla! Tortilla!' he cried, pleading for a taste of his own traditional food.
A resident of Ebon atoll also revealed that when Alvarenga saw two women when he first came ashore he was not wearing tattered shorts but was completely naked.
He told of catching small sea birds and breaking their necks and decapitating them in order to drink their blood and how he would hide under a large box on the deck to protect himself from the sun and say prayers for deliverance.
Speaking through an interpreter, he said he had set out for a day's fishing with his friend's son, Ezekiel, aged 15, in their 23ft boat with a 75hp outboard motor.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Those pics of him. Just wow. I’ll bet that Coke he’s holding is the best tasting soda he’s enjoyed well, in 14 months!
Some began to doubt his story after he mumbled something about a soccer ball named “Wilson.”
BS story......guy looks too damn good for that amount of time....IMHO!!!!
http://www.ussatlanta.com/stories/Juneasstoryfay.htm
This is the narrative by my Uncle Joe...a real-life castaway, post the Battle of Guadalcanal. It is a long read, but will leave you with a deep appreciation for those that serve.
**TEN MEN OUT OF 700.**
There is no way that guy spent that time in a small boat. He’s obviously pretty healthy. No dehydration, no starvation, a trimmed beard, a healthy head of hair. He doesn’t even have a sun tan!
We need to go back to a time when newspapers had editors who would ask such questions as “is this guy lying?, is this story true?” (Picture Lou Grant.) Now we just have reporters rushing to put any thing any wack job says into the news cycle. The odds of that guy being some demented, attention hungry, psyc job are way better than he did what he said.
Yo quiero Taco Bell
Got a virus warning on that page.
Thor Heyerdahl, who sailed the Kon Tiki and the Ra across the Pacific and Atlantic found you could survive on flying fish, provided you had water from rain.
I remember reading of a Chinese steward, Poon Lim, who survived the torpedoing of his ship in WWII and survived for months in the Atlantic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poon_Lim
Now, if Jose Salvador Alvarenga had only had a piece of floatstam to float on he probably would not have made it, but he had a complete but broke fishing boat.
Absolutely agree. I had to read it in stages 'cause the darn screen would get so blurry. God bless him and ALL who served (my own Dad and Uncle Joe, too). So glad I took the time to read it.
great recounting
wish I was on one of those islands this minute
How he came back from service, after that and resumed a normal life, I’ll never know.
This story gives meaning to the word *hero.*
Someone saw the movie, Life of Pi.
Thank you.
Amazing how an average-joe ascends to greatness in the blink of an eye.
From the headline you’d think his first words were, “Somebody hand me a pair of pants!”
I am guessing parts of this dude’s story are true, he was fishing, he was adrift for some short period of time, but he is also nuts
The press will spend more time on investigating this, than they should on the IRS or Benghazi....that we can count on.
How many times has that actor died in NYC due to a heroin OD in the past few days? Every time the newz is on, he is mentioned. I said, *Oh, he died again today?*
yes the press is depraved
lol
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